Five APA references

Caron, C. (2011). Facebook Mystery: Man killed after Ex-Girlfriend posts ominous message. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/US/facebook-mystery-man-killed-girlfriend-posts-ad-assassin/story?id=14318350


Carroll, J. & Sutter, J. (2009). Fears of imposters increase on Facebook. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-05/tech/facebook.impostors_1_facebook-spokesman-barry-schnitt-cnn-friends-track?_s=PM:TECH


Chisholm, A. (2011). Nigerian scams evolve to Facebook. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2011-06-30/article-2624756/Nigerian-scams-evolve-to-Facebook/1


Fisher, D. & King, C. (2011). Suicide blamed on Facebook faker. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10725758


Mirror.co.uk. (2009). Man that stabbed girlfriend to death over Facebook relationship status jailed for life. Retrieved from http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/11/facebook-killer-caged-115875-21664260/

Where From Here?

Like in all wars, to defend yourself, you need weapons and armour. On the internet, it is no different. Arming yourself with knowledge and protection will ensure your safety.

A person's identity is stolen every 3.5 seconds in the U.S.

Shocking.

This site offers ten tips to protect against identity thieves and other dangers of social networking.

"It will never happen to me" is the common misconception that people have. Knowing what is out there and protecting yourself are two different things.

The threats aren't something you can just take lightly and turn your cheek away from. Social Networking is stapled to the lives of many people worldwide and walking away from this issue would just escalate the effects to greater heights.


It is your choice to leave yourself defenseless or well armed to combat these threats.

Social Networking is dangerous.

The Deadly Web

On the surface, social networking is a fast, fun and easy way to communicate with friends and family. It is the last place you'd think would be the cause of many deaths.

Death threats. Murder. Suicide.

The web is intricately spun. Those who are caught in the most dangerous positions usually get eaten alive as a result.

It's unbelievable, but it does happen.

Mirror News reports that a man stabbed his girlfriend to death after finding out she had changed her relationship status to "single" on facebook. Was it because he loved her too much and didn't want to lose her or was he just a psychopath? Definitely a psychopath.

Another bizarre case was about Corey White, who was killed after his ex-girlfriend posted on facebook "I will pay somebody a stack to kill my baby father." A person responded to this post accepting the offer and on the following Monday, White was shot dead. Coincidence? I think not.

Stories like these shows us the effects that social networking sites have on people. Death is just around the corner waiting for it's next victim.

Cyber Bullies

Cyber bullying through social networking sites happens more often than people realize. Online bullying ranges from threats to harassment.

There have been countless cases of cyber bullying through Facebook. Cyber bullying offenders are known to be charged with fines to being imprisoned in jail.

A 16 year old female student was charged for creating a malicious Facebook group hosting pictures of various students and writing crude comments about them. The punishment was a 2500 dollar fine, her computer being seized by police and a possibility of 1 year in prison.

In even more serious cases, suicide has been the result of cyber bullying. In 2006, 13 year old Megan Meier loss her life because of cyber bullying. Known to be suffering from depression in the past, she befriended a boy on a social networking site. Their friendship grew over time but suddenly the cyber bully began to post crude comments which devastated Megan and led to her suicide. The culprit was no other than a neighbour who created a fake profile to cyber bully which in turn destroyed Megan's life.

The impact of cyber bullying are just as dire as identity theft. There are numerous effects including traumatizing the victim, humiliation, loss of self esteem and even death.

Love And Despair

Identity Theft isn't the only threat that social networking has. There are numerous cases where people make fake accounts and lure lonely people into fake relationships.

Natalia Burgess is one of the many facebook predators out there. She is infamous for misleading teenage boys into fake online relationships using fake personas.

By stealing attractive photos of other women from the internet, she was able to create fake profiles to lure teenage boys. Her web of deceit spun has expanded since 2001 and since then has caught the media's attention. According the New Zealand Herald, Natalia Burgess is suspected of luring up to 40 pupils from St Thomas of Canterbury.

The dangers of Facebook predators doesn't just stop at impersonating others. Their actions have proven to have other fatal consequences.

Again, Burgess's fake personas have impacted the lives of many teenage boys. Peter Russell is one of the victims of Burgess's manipulative schemes. He took his own life after being dumped by one of Natalia Burgess's fake identities. After his death, she continued an online relationship with Russell's 16 year old brother. She also took advantage of the situation and turned up in person to console him with sex.

Despicable.

Facebook predators such as Burgess truly have sick minds with twisted motives. The horror and dangers of social networking are imminent. The repercussions of developing fake relationships online are devastating.

Identity Theft

Identity Theft is a growing issue in modern society. They impersonate their victims through obtaining their personal information, giving themselves the power to access bank accounts and perform other malicious acts.

Facebook has become the world's most dominant social networking site with a reported 750 million monthly active users. Facebook gives users the option of publically posting their full name, location, place of birth, birth date and other personal information, making it a gold mine for identity thieves.


Andrew Chrisholm, a reporter from The Guardian, reports about a Nigerian scammer impersonating Judy Gillis on facebook to solicit money from her friends. Soliciting money is one of the most common scams. They offer their victims a "too good to be true" offer.

Bryan Rutberg was also a victim to an identity thief, CNN reports that the scammer hacked Bryan's facebook and posted a status stating he had been robbed gunpoint in London and needed money to get back to the U.S. His friends responded by sending the scammer money thinking that it was Bryan.

Having access to a victim's personal information and account allows the scammer to assume the identity of the victim.

Deception is one of the most deadliest tools in an identity thief's arsenal.

Introduction

The year is 2011. Social networking has become the bread and butter of communication.

The impact of social networking is present throughout the world, so much that it has become apart of many people's lives and daily routine. Facebook has millions of users across the globe and has become the world's leading social networking domain. The impact is so phenomenal that Facebook has surpassed Google in terms of visits in the U.S.With such a large database of personal information, there is no doubt in mind that several threats would be lurking beyond the computer screen. From identity theft to putting a person's life in jeopardy.

Social Networking is dangerous.